Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 23:13:54 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 5, chapters 31 -32
Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 31 -- My Day in Court.
**Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read
this.
Steve arranged for a meeting with Ms. Van Cott and her lawyer, so we could
discuss a compromise. I'm not sure if they saw the report the same way
Steve did, so he was going to make sure they understood his take on it
before we were through.
"After reading the DSS report," Steve began, "it is my impression that we
don't have many options here. If we are not careful and don't settle this
disagreement on our own, there's a very good chance that neither side will
see Cole or Graham again. I don't think any of us wants that, do we?" He
paused and looked at Ms. Van Cott and her lawyer.
"My client will agree to letting Mr. Currie have some visitation rights,
after she gets her sons back," her lawyer announced.
"Aren't we being a little presumptuous here?" Steve asked them. "There is
no way she'll ever get custody, so we're offering visitation rights for
her. It seems like either she accepts this or gives up all hope of ever
seeing her sons again."
"Now I think you're the one being presumptuous," her lawyer responded,
sarcastically. "They are her children, after all."
"Not legally, and nothing will change that, unless the judge takes them
away from Mr. Currie too," Steve countered. "However, if that should
happen, the chances are virtually nonexistent that she'd get custody after
the judge looks at the report. Let's face it, the only hope she has of
spending ANY time with her boys is if she agrees to accept the visitation
arrangement we are offering."
Her lawyer got ready to speak, but I interrupted him. "Look, I know you
think I'm the problem here," I said directly to Ms. Van Cott, "but I did
nothing to poison your boys against you. Cole has stated very plainly that
he can't, and won't, forgive you letting them go hungry like you did or for
abandoning them the way you did in the end. He has made it very clear that
he'll never live with you and that he'd run away first, even though I've
tried to discourage that attitude."
"Yeah, I'm sure you've tried really hard," she hissed, sarcastically.
"Let's face facts here. You just want my boys with you. You've got all
those other boys to keep you company, so I don't understand why you still
won't give me back my sons. What do you need them for?"
"Look, my family is not like a coin or stamp collection," I responded,
mocking her assertion. "I took each of them in because they needed someone
to take care of them and I've worked through many tough times with them and
tried to set them up with some sort of a future. Cole and Graham are my
sons and I don't care how many other children I have, I'd never give any of
them up. I do what's best for them, not what's best for me, and they don't
feel that being with you would be best for them. However, if you'd like to
be able to see them, so you can make amends for what you did to them and
get to know them better, I'd be willing to do that for you, but I won't
just turn them over to you."
After a period of silence and some whispering back and forth between her
and her attorney, her lawyer responded. "Well, I think we're at an impasse
here and there is nothing more for us to talk about." With that they got
up and exited the room.
After they left, I waited a few seconds before I spoke to Steve, so there
wouldn't be any chance of them hearing what we said. "So, what do we do
next?"
"I don't think we have any other options," he stated, quite bluntly,
"unless you want to give the boys back to her."
"No, I couldn't do that to Cole," I explained. "I'm not sure what he'd do
if that actually happened. I can go home and try to talk to him about it
again, but I really don't see that as an option."
"Well, then we'll just have to wait and see how the judge rules," Steve
offered, while shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, to let me know
he had no idea what that might be. I wasn't encouraged, but I didn't have
many alternatives, so we parted company and I started searching for my next
alternative.
When I got home, I spoke to Cole and Graham again, in an effort to work
this out satisfactorily for all of us. After I told them what happened at
our meeting with their mother and her lawyer, we discussed the
alternatives. When I broached the subject of them possibly going to live
with her, Cole got extremely upset.
"Look, I've told you over and over again that I won't go to live with her,
no matter what," he announced, in a rather loud voice. "I don't want to
leave you or my other brothers, but I'd rather try to live on the streets
than go with her." At this point I thought it might be best to deflect
some of his hostility, by focusing on his brother.
"What about you, Graham, how do you feel about all of this?" I asked.
"Well, I always wanted to get to know her," he admitted, "but I'm just not
sure about living with her. I'll do wherever Cole does, even if it means
we have to run away. He's the only one I won't leave." After he said
this, he looked up at me, with a shocked look on his face, like he didn't
word it exactly as he had. "That doesn't mean I want to leave you," he
quickly corrected, "it's just that if we have to choose, I'll go with
Cole."
"I understand, and I'm glad you feel that way," I agreed, reassuringly.
"You two should always stick together, no matter what else happens."
After hearing what I had to say, the boys looked at each other and nodded,
and then they came over to give me a hug. "Dad, we're still hoping it
works out so we can stay here with you, though," Graham added.
"Me too," I agreed.
Later that afternoon, I received a call from Steve, telling me that Ms. Van
Cott and her lawyer had contacted him and wanted to have another meeting,
but this time they also wanted me to bring the boys along. I asked him why
they would make that request, and Steve suggested it might be to verify
what I had told them earlier. Maybe she just needed to hear it from the
boys themselves. I agreed to attend the meeting, and then went to inform
the boys. They were anxious to get involved, so they could make sure their
opinions were also heard.
After I told Steve they had agreed and to make the arrangements, we waited
to hear back from him. While we waited, I went to get the mail and was
surprised to see that Kevin had received a letter. When I gave it to him,
he opened it quickly and then got very excited. It was a letter notifying
him that he was a finalist for a scholarship granted by the Pennsylvania
Association of Pharmacists. At first he didn't even remember having
applied for it, but now he felt it didn't matter. It said he was a
finalist and he and his parents were invited to attend the banquet where
the announcements would be made.
After thinking about it later, however, he concluded this was something his
guidance counselor had submitted his name for, and all he had done was
write a short essay about why he wanted to become a pharmacist. That essay
must have done the trick, because now he was a finalist for the
scholarship. The banquet was going to be held on the last weekend in May,
and that's when they would announce the winners. I was very proud of Kevin
and told him so, no matter the final outcome, and he thanked me for being
there for him again.
At that moment, the phone rang. It was Steve and he told me Ms. Van Cott
had agreed to meet with us in an hour. I told him the boys and I would be
there and then hung up. Before going to get Cole and Graham, I apologized
to Kevin and told him we'd discuss this in more detail later, but now I had
to get ready for another meeting with Cole and Graham's mother. He said he
understood, so I went to find the other boys.
We went to the meeting, but I told the boys we were going to remain silent
and wait for their mother or her lawyer to make the first offer, since they
were the ones who asked us to attend this time. As it turned out, we
didn't have long to wait before Ms. Van Cott made her intent known.
"Thank you for coming and for bringing the boys," she began, with more
sweetness than I had ever heard in her voice before. "I just needed to
hear from Cole and Graham, to see if what you told me about them was true."
Now, she focused on her sons. "Cole, honey, is it true you said you'd run
away, if you had to come live with me?"
"Yep, and I will too." He was looking very defiant.
"Who suggested that you do that?" she asked him, point blank.
"No one told me to do that, it's just the way I feel." Cole was beginning
to look mad now.
"But I'm your mother, why would you run away from me?" she pressed, still
not comprehending how much he despised her.
"You're not my mother, not since you left Graham and me all alone," he
challenged. "Why would I want anything to do with you now?"
"But I AM your mother," she repeated, as if that were all he needed to
know.
"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Cole screamed. "Can't you get that through your head? I
hate what you did, so that means I also hate you. Why don't you just go
away again and leave us alone." Cole was standing now, getting right in
her face, and she was visibly shaken by his outburst. She was starting to
break down and cry, but she turned to Graham and spoke to him next.
"Do you feel the same way?" she sobbed.
He looked at her, saw the tears rolling down her cheeks, and I knew he felt
her pain. "After you left us, I would think about you a lot and wonder
where you were, but I also wondered why you just left us like you did," he
explained. "I thought I might want to talk to you some time, and maybe get
to know you again, but I don't want to come live with you either. We have
a home and a dad now. We're happy there and I don't want that to change."
"And what if the judge were to say that you had to come live with me?" she
asked, hoping that would sway his decision.
"I don't know," he answered, sincerely, "but if Cole left, I'd go with
him."
Now she looked at me, and I could easily read the pain in her face. "Okay,
I'll go along with your offer," she confirmed, "but do my visits need to be
supervised?"
"I think that might be best to start, at least until the boys feel
comfortable with you again," I replied, honestly. "After you all become
reacquainted and more relaxed in each other's company, maybe we could work
something else out, if the boys agree to it." Both Cole and Graham grinned
at me, knowing I had made sure to include them in the decision-making
process, so now they'd have some say over what would happen in the future.
This pleased them to a point, but Cole still didn't look very happy.
"Okay, I guess I can accept that," their mother stated. "Is that okay with
you, Cole and Graham?" Both boys nodded, but Cole felt he had to say
something more.
"I want you to know, I'm only doing this is to let Graham get to know you,
and so we can stay with Dad," he told her, "but don't expect me to be real
happy to see you when you come to visit." Although his mother seemed very
hurt by his comments, she forced a smile on her face and responded.
"Okay, that sounds fair," she told him, but it was obvious she felt as
though Cole had just stabbed her with a knife. "As long as you'll be there
and are willing to give me a chance to make up for what I did, then I can
handle that."
"I will promise to do that," Cole confirmed, "so Dad won't get into any
trouble."
"I guess you really do love him, don't you?" she asked, almost as if she
found it difficult to believe.
"Yes, more than I've ever loved anyone else… well, except for Graham,"
he added. She nodded in understanding, but was unable to conceal her pain
this time. We agreed to let the lawyers work out the details as we
prepared to leave, but not before I let Ms. Van Cott have a little more
time with her boys. It wasn't great, but they were able to clear the air a
little more and made it slightly easier for the next time they were to
meet.
It looked like this was now behind us and we could drop the court case,
since we'd worked out our own agreement. Now, we just had to wait to make
it official, and that would be done when we went back to court in three
more days.
When the court date came up, we all marched into courtroom, confident in
what we were about to do. When the case was called, Ms. Van Cott's lawyer
stood up and announced his client was dropping her case, since we had
reached an agreement on our own. We thought that would end the matter,
except the judge stated it was not going to be that simple or easy. He
determined this case was now a question of my fitness as a parent, and
whether the adoptions should have been allowed in the first place. He went
on to suggest these proceedings would now determine if the adoptions should
now be vacated. Steve was incensed.
"The court has no grounds on which to get involved in this case, now that
Ms. Van Cott's suit has been dropped," he stated in his most firm, yet
official voice.
"I'm sorry, but I disagree," the judge stated. "This report from DSS gives
the court the right to intercede at this point."
"That report is unfounded and filled with inaccuracies," Steve challenged.
"Before you use that report to make any judgments about Mr. Currie's
fitness as a parent, I want a chance to rebut its findings and question its
author."
"This is just a standard investigation report, one that the DSS does all
the time," the judge stated. "We use these reports to recommend the
handling of many of our cases. Why should this one be any less valid?"
"Well, primarily because this report is based on innuendo and
inaccuracies," Steve informed him. "For example, it suggests that
Mr. Currie has promoted or enticed various boys to become gay or bisexual,
once they were in his custody. It has been clearly documented that some of
these boys were already gay or bisexual before he took them in, and his
only role was that he was willing to accept them for who and what they
were."
"And how did you come by that information?" the judge inquired.
"I was involved with helping him adopt his family," Steve admitted, "and I
know at least three of the boys were kicked out of their home situation
because it was discovered they were either gay or bisexual."
"Interesting, but that's only part of what's reported," the judge
countered.
"That may be, but it's not the only inaccurate statement made in the
report," Steve reiterated. "It also suggests that Mr. Currie has a gay
lover. First of all, Mr. Currie was married for many years and has four
children as a result of that marriage. The only reason his marriage ended
was due to the death of his wife. I assume the investigator made his
decision he had a gay lover, only because another man also lives in the
house. However, that man is also divorced and raising his own son, and he
merely moved in to assist Mr. Currie, after Mr. Currie suffered a heart
attack. The two now split the responsibilities of taking care of all of
the boys, but that does not make them gay lovers."
"Well, in light of what you've said, I think we'll need to clear up these
facts before I can reach a decision," the judge announcement, visibly
shaken that Steve had so easily punched holes in a report produced by
someone he had assigned to the case. "We'll meet again tomorrow at the
same time, but on that occasion I will have the investigator here to defend
his report. Will that satisfy you?"
"Yes, your honor," Steve agreed. "We will be here and prepared to continue
at that time."
After Steve and I left the courtroom, we began to discuss our strategy. We
talked about whom we might be able to get to come to the courthouse as
character witnesses, especially on such short notice, and then we discussed
what other strategies we might use. I could see the fire in Steve's eyes,
the kind he gets when he's determined to protect a friend or client when
they have been unfairly accused, and I knew this meant I was in good hands.
Hopefully this judge wouldn't pull one of his unexpected and unfounded
decisions, and we'd finally be able to nip this in the bud, here and now.
I didn't want the insinuations to have time to spread and take root, before
we were able to dispel them. There's nothing harder to defend against than
rumors and I didn't want to be forced to have to do that.
Once we got home, I didn't mention anything to the boys about what had
happened in court, but Jake and I discussed it in private. I suggested
that, at least for the short term, it might be best if we did not sleep
together, so he said he'd share Shannon's room until this was over. Of
course the boys immediately wanted to know if we'd had a fight or if
something was wrong, so we explained it was merely a precautionary measure,
until the matter with Cole and Graham's mother was settled. They seemed to
accept that explanation, so no more was said about Jake moving out of the
master bedroom.
Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 5 by BW
Copyright 2009 by billwstories
Chapter 32 -- Vindication.
The next day we were back in court, with several witnesses lined up behind
us. There was Sally and Mary, Steve's wife, but there was also the
Spences, Jake and the High School principal. He had agreed to take a late
lunch hour so he could come to support us and testify on our behalf. The
investigator for DSS was also there and was immediately called forward and
sworn in. Once this had been completed, Steve immediately stepped forward
and began to attack his report.
"Sir, you stated in your report that you believe Mr. Currie promoted a gay
or bisexual lifestyle for the boys, causing them to become either gay or
bisexual. Is that true?" he began.
"After talking to teachers, fellow students, and the boys themselves, I
discovered there is a disproportionate number of boys residing there who
consider themselves to be either gay or bisexual," he concurred. "The only
explanation for that would be that they were encouraged at home to
participate in that sort of lifestyle."
"Then why aren't all of the boys gay or bisexual?" Steve challenged.
"Obviously, some didn't buy into what he was promoting," the man scoffed.
"Did it ever occur to you that the boys were either gay or bisexual before
they came to live with Mr. Currie?" Steve pressed.
"Not really," the gentleman admitted. "They would have been too young at
that point to have made such a decision."
"Really? And at what age do you think they would decide their
orientation?" Steve asked.
"Probably between sixteen to eighteen, somewhere in that age range," the
man volunteered.
"Wow, that's interesting," Steve announced, as if he were astounded. "And
where did you get your degree in deviant psychology from?"
"Mr. Shay, that's enough of that," the judge advised Steve.
"I'm sorry, your honor," he apologized, "but please let me get back to my
point. Sir, did you know that some of the boys came to live with
Mr. Currie because they had previously been kicked out of their homes after
it was discovered they were already gay or bisexual."
The investigator blushed at this point, knowing he had missed some
information during his hurried and incomplete investigation. "No, I'm
afraid I didn't learn about any of that information, if that is truly what
happened."
"Believe me, it is," Steve sneered. "The local DSS has records denoting
those facts in great detail." Steve paused again, so he could glare at the
social worker, and the guy turned even a brighter shade of red, this time
more out of anger than embarrassment.
"Maybe if you'd have done your job more thoroughly, you might have
discovered these facts on your own," Steve announced, in his best
accusatory tone. This comment only pissed the gentleman off even more.
"In your report," Steve continued, "you also stated that you thought
Mr. Currie had a gay lover. Who might that be?"
"Well, obviously the other guy who lives in his house with him," the man
spat back.
"Oh, did you see them kissing, making out or something of that nature to
cause you to jump to that conclusion?" Steve wondered, aloud.
"No, nothing like that," the guy stuttered.
"Well, on what did you base your assumption then?" Steve asked,
intentionally using that specific word. I thought Steve might even go as
far as to explain the old adage that when you ASSUME, it makes an ASS out
of U and ME, but he didn't.
"Come on!" the unnerved social worker screamed. "What two guys would live
in a house with all of those boys and no females around, if they weren't
gay?"
"Oh, so now just because two guys share a house and raise a group of boys,"
Steve paraphrased, "that automatically makes them gay?"
"Well, no, but…" the man stammered.
"Did you know Mr. Currie had been married and had four children from that
marriage?" Steve asked, while looking quite smug.
"Well, some gay guys try to hide the fact they're gay by getting married
and having children," the man challenged.
"Or that the other man was divorced?" Steve continued,
"No." the social worked replied, meekly.
"Or that Mr. Currie is well respected in the community and a valued
community leader," Steve pressed on. "He was the principal of the middle
school until he retired, due to health related issues."
"Well, he could still be gay," the man charged.
"But you have no specific proof of that, or for any of the other
conclusions you state as facts in your report. Is that correct?" Steve
followed, while verbally backing the guy into a corner.
"I think all those comments are accurate," he replied, in an attempt to
justify his accusations.
"Maybe to your own homophobic, narrow mind," Steve quipped back, before the
judge rapped his gavel on the desk and addressed Steve.
"That will be enough, Mr. Shay," he warned. "You've made your point. Do
you have any more questions for this witness?"
"No, your honor, but I do have rebuttal witnesses who will attest to
Mr. Currie's character and fitness as a parent," he announced.
"Okay, you may call them then," the judge agreed, "but don't make this a
long or drawn out affair."
Steve then paraded our witnesses forward, asking them questions about my
parenting skills and fitness as a person, as a way of allowing them to show
their support for my family and me. After they all got to express their
opinions, the judge took a short recess, to give him time to weigh
everything he had just heard. Steve thought it might be because he still
wanted to accept the report, but now he didn't have a legal basis on which
to do it. After a few minutes he returned and announced his decision.
"After weighing all of the information provided here today," the judge
began, "I have decided not to pursue this matter further and will allow the
adoptions to stand. I will also honor any arrangement you have worked out
with Ms. Van Cott concerning her biological sons. This case is now
closed."
With that, he rapped his gavel and then got up and left, as the rest of us
celebrated. I think Steve had been right. I think the judge might have
been more than a little tempted to continue accepting his investigator's
accusations, but feared a higher court would overrule him. I got that
feeling from studying his facial expressions as he announced his decision.
Maybe I was wrong, but it sure did appear that way to me. It looked as if
he had swallowed a bunch of lemons while he was announcing his decision, so
I think he would have preferred to find a way to separate me from my sons.
I hadn't noticed that Ms. Van Cott had entered and taken a seat after the
proceedings had begun, but I now noticed her sitting in the back corner of
the courtroom. After my friends and I finished our brief celebration and
we got ready to leave, she walked up to me and asked if she might have a
moment of my time, in private. I agreed and we walked to the far side of
the courtroom.
"Mr. Currie, I hope you'll forgive me for all the trouble I've caused you,"
she began, "and I'm grateful you've agreed to allow me to visit with my
boys, from time to time."
"Of course, I forgive you," I told her, "and I also want you to know that I
never intended to keep you completely away from Cole and Graham. I just
didn't want you to try to force them to come live with you, unless that's
what THEY wanted to do."
"I understand that now," she admitted, "and I sorely misjudged you. Please
accept my apologies and my thanks for letting me back into their lives."
"You don't have to thank me, just don't hurt them ever again," I cautioned.
"I promise that if you blow this opportunity, you won't see them until
they're fully-grown and able to make that decision for themselves. I also
promise that I will protect them with all my strength and full resources,
so they won't have to face such pain again."
"I know you will, since you're that kind of a person," she confirmed. "I'm
glad my boys are in such good hands now."
We finished by agreeing that she could call any time to see them, but we
would start off with only allowing the visits to take place at the house,
until both boys were comfortable enough to go other places with her. She
agreed and this nightmare was now over. Hopefully, it will be the last one
we'll have to endure.
By the time I arrived home, the boys were already there, so I was able to
tell them what had happened in court. Once they heard the news, all of
them got very excited and began to celebrate. I guess they had been just
as worried as I was, if not more so, about the family being broken up, and
now they let loose and rejoiced, because it was clear that wouldn't happen.
While the others were whooping it up, Cole came over to me and asked when
they'd have to meet with his mother. I told him she would call first, to
set something up, but I hoped he would give her a chance to atone for her
past mistakes. I explained that sometimes people do things they are
ashamed of later, especially when they are under the influence of other
things, like drugs or alcohol, so I was hoping he might give her a chance
to prove she had really changed.
Cole did argue with me briefly, about not wanting to forgive her for all
the hurt she had caused his brother and him. He was still very sensitive
about this, but after I explained that if she hadn't done what she did,
then he would have never ended up with me, or his brothers. Hearing that,
he finally decided that maybe her actions did benefit his brother and him
in some way and he ended our conversation by saying he'd try not to be too
hard on her.
Later Graham came to me, with some observations of his own. "Well, Dad, I
guess I'm beginning to understand the messages from Brent better."
"Why? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering what he was referring to this
time. I was curious as to whether he'd been shown something more?
"Well, I now know the gray haze around someone means something bad is going
to happen to them, but it's something that can be worked out," he
announced, pleased by his discovery. "The dark gray haze means something
bad is going to happen, but it's not fatal, and the black means something
really bad is going to happen."
"Well, it sounds like you have it figured out," I agreed. "Does that mean
you're becoming more comfortable with your gift then?"
"Yes, I guess I am," he confirmed. "It still bothers me sometimes, because
most of the messages aren't very good, but I know now it's a part of me and
I've got to learn to live with it. It's not as bad as I first thought it
was going to be, though."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," I told him. "It makes me feel better."
"Yeah, me too," he concurred.
That night, once they went to their rooms, some of the boys continued their
little celebration, but I think most of it was just to release the tension
that had built up during our minor crisis. Most of the boys were able to
unwind quickly, but of course it took Cole and Graham a little longer to
get past all of their concerns. Fortunately, that pair was able to find
other ways to relax, which began when Sammy and Andrew asked them to spend
the night with them. The four of them had become fairly close, once things
settled down after Sammy blew up at Graham over the Andrew incident. Since
then, Sammy and Graham had made peace and the four of them had become very
tight.
Over the past few days, Sammy and Andrew could see just how upset and
nervous Cole and Graham had been during this confrontation with their
mother, so that pair had made their own plans to help them forget about
their troubles. Once the four of them were in the room together, they put
their plan into action.
Sammy and Andrew had talked it over in private and were prepared to do all
the work, so the other pair could just relax and enjoy. That duo took the
initiative, as each of them began to stroke their partners and get them
aroused. Of course Andrew had chosen Graham, so Sammy ended up with Cole,
and the two boys took a great deal of enjoyment in bringing pleasure to the
other pair.
Once they had them erect and wanting more, they began to work on them
orally, using their tongues and mouths to bring them even more pleasure.
In the dim-light of the moon, a casual observer might have been able to
make out two little heads bobbing up and down, as their mouths were impaled
by their partner's rigid organ, which brought the other pair a tremendous
amount of pleasure and slowly brought them to the brink of ecstasy.
As the younger pair continued to nod up and down, while suctioning the
shafts of their older partners, the older pair began to buck in rhythm,
while trying to mirror the younger ones' movements. This activity
continued until each of the older boys released his own load of cream into
his benefactor's mouth, and then they got to enjoy the warm, glowing
feeling that makes every boy feel so good.
Once they had recovered, they decided it would only be fair to return the
favor to the ones who gave them so much pleasure, so Cole and Graham
switched places with their partners. This time the older pair licked and
sucked on the other two, until they also had the opportunity to enjoy the
same pleasurable release, even if it was a dry orgasm for Andrew. When
that session ended, they cuddled with each other, fell asleep and stayed
that way until the next morning. When I checked on them in the middle of
the night, they looked like a litter of puppies, all tangled together for
warmth and security.
In the light of the new day, everything began to look better and we were
able to reevaluate our current circumstances. In an effort to find out
more about the DSS investigator who had written that horrid report about
us, I asked Sally if she would contact some of her friends at the state
level, and she agreed. Although she didn't disclose WHY she was seeking
this information, she began to ask questions about him and learn as much as
she could. She even had one of her contacts investigate his professional
credentials, to discern if he was actually certified to do that job.
Sally also filed a formal complaint about some of the things he had done
and the unsubstantiated accusations he had made. She stated that she
thought he had let his personal feelings interfere with his professional
judgment, thus unfairly appraising the situation. Although it probably
wouldn't cost him his job, it might get him a slap on the wrist, which
might prevent him from doing something similar to someone else.
After the review board conducted a formal investigation of this matter, the
state panel agreed with Sally and reopened all his old cases, so they could
look for similar signs of his use of guilt by innuendo. I guess they
eventually found many discrepancies in those records as well, so many in
fact, that they had to reevaluate or correct the dispositions on a great
many of his previous investigations.
Due to all these irregularities, he was suspended without pay, while the
panel tried to decide what should be done to correct all of the biased
reports he had filed. I guess his days of using his own prejudice to
influence official decisions were over, at least for now. As a result of
our inquiry, the state was forced to correct numerous past wrongs, which
had been inflicted on others he despised for some unexplainable reason.
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